TEHRAN (FNA)- The UK is considering a boycott of the 2018 FIFA World Cup hosted by Russia if it is established Moscow was behind the poisoning of former Russian military intelligence (GRU) Colonel Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia, according to a new report.

British officials are holding talks with the US and European allies about "a coordinated retaliation, including possible diplomatic, economic and military measures", if it is found out that Skripal and his daughter were targeted by the Kremlin, The Times said on Saturday citing a defense source, TASS reported.

"A boycott of the World Cup is definitely one of the options on the cards," the defense source told the daily.

The Times said that the boycott "could involve stopping senior politicians and officials from attending or even withdrawing the England squad from the tournament."

Other countries, such as Poland, Australia and Japan, which teams are in the finals, might be "asked to join in the action".

"A wide range of options are being discussed," a senior Whitehall source said.

British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson said on Tuesday it was "very difficult to see how UK representation at that event could go ahead in the normal way" if Moscow’s involvement was proved.

Later, the Foreign Office told TASS that Johnson meant a possibility that the UK might re-consider its diplomatic and political presentation at the World Cup.

In 2004, Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) arrested Skripal and later on, he was sentenced to 13 years in prison for high treason.

Six years later, the former colonel was handed over to the US as part of a swap involving espionage suspects. In the same year, Skripal arrived in the UK and settled there.

On March 4, the local police said the 66-year-old man and his 33-year-old daughter Yulia were found unconscious on a bench outside The Maltings shopping center in Salisbury, following exposure to an unknown nerve agent. Both remain in hospital in critical condition.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Friday that Russia was ready to assist in investigating any case, including the Salisbury incident if professional channels were used for request.

TEHRAN (FNA)- Kurdish sources in Northeastern Syria disclosed once again on Monday that the US troops have conducted heliborne operations to rescue a number of entrapped ISIL commanders who had escaped to Northern Hasaka province after losing the war in Iraq.

TEHRAN (FNA)- United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said that the longstanding Israeli siege on Gaza Strip has led to deteriorated living conditions of approximately two million Palestinians in the blockaded coastal enclave.

TEHRAN (FNA)- Iranian President Hassan Rouhani in a message felicitated Angela Merkel on her reelection as the Chancellor of Germany, voicing the hope that bilateral ties between Tehran and Berlin would expand based on mutual respect and common interests.

TEHRAN (FNA)- A US-Israeli plot to launch attacks against Damascus from several fronts in collaboration with the NATO, Israel and Jordan failed, sources revealed on Monday as the Syrian army carried out successful operations in Eastern Ghouta.

TEHRAN (FNA)- The Iranian foreign ministry said the French top diplomat, Jean-Yves Le Drian's adamant stance on Iran's missile and regional power after he was briefed about Tehran's policy during a recent visit to the Asian nation is a source of regret and display that talks with some Western statesmen might lead to nowhere.

TEHRAN (FNA)- More than 79,000 civilians have left terrorist-held regions in Eastern Ghouta via humanitarian corridors for safe zones controlled by the Syrian Army troops, the spokesman for the Russian Reconciliation Center for Syria said on Monday.

TEHRAN (FNA)- Rapporteur of the Iranian parliament's National Security and Foreign Policy Commission Seyed Hossein Naqavi Hosseini rapped Washington for numerous violations of the 2015 nuclear deal between Tehran and the world powers.

TEHRAN (FNA)- Commander of the Iranian Border Guards Brigadier General Qassem Rezayee said the country's border guard who was wounded in a 2017 cross-border attack in Southeastern Iran and was then taken by the terrorists to Pakistan is still alive.

TEHRAN (FNA)- The Turkish Army's new convoy of forces and equipment has entered Southern Idlib, field sources reported on Monday, adding that the Syrian Army has opened fire at regions near the positions of the Turkish troops in Southern Aleppo.